Recording medium, method of configuring control information thereof, recording and/or reproducing method using the same, and apparatus thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method of recording control information in a recordable optical disc including at least one recording layer. In recording control information within a management area of an optical disc including at least one or more recording layers, the present invention includes providing the control information to each of the at least one or more recording layers per recording velocity, recording an information identifying a type of the corresponding control information within the control information, and recording a write strategy (WS) interworking with the type of the control information. In recording a write strategy (WS) within disc information, CLV and CAV are separately recorded, whereby it is able to efficiently cope with the record/playback of the optical disc.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/883,667 filed Jul. 6, 2004, the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference. This application also claims the benefit ofKorean Applications No. 10-2003-0045825 filed on Jul. 7, 2003, No.10-2003-0056540 filed on Aug. 14, 2003 and No. 10-2003-0061785 filed onSep. 4, 2003, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of recording controlinformation on a recording medium, such as a recordable optical disc,and a method of recording data on a recording medium using the controlinformation.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

A high-density optical recording medium, known as HD-DVD, is widely usedto record and store high-definition video data and high-quality audiodata. The Blu-ray disc (hereinafter abbreviated BD) representsnext-generation HD-DVD technology.

Technological specifications are now being established for the globalstandardization of the Blu-ray disc, including standards for awrite-once Blu-ray disc (BD-WO). Meanwhile, a rewritable Blu-ray disc,known as 1× speed BD-RE and now under discussed should be compatiblewith BD-RE discs expected to have higher writing speed, i.e., 2× speedBD-RE and beyond. BD-WO specifications for high writing speed are alsoin progress. Efficient solutions for coping with the high writing speedof a high-density optical disc are urgently needed, and thespecifications established should ensure mutual compatibility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method of recordingcontrol information in an optical disc that substantially obviates oneor more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the relatedart.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new method ofrecording control information as specified information coping with highwriting speed, in which information indicating a kind of controlinformation is recorded within the control information as well as awrite strategy interworking with the recorded information.

Another object of the present invention is to define a new datastructure configuring control information.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a specified methodof recording control information coping with high writing speed in aspecific area within a disc, by which reciprocal compatibility isprovided between the same based discs.

A further object of the present invention is to provide arecording/reproducing method and apparatus thereof, by which real datais recorded/reproduced on/from an optical disc using the recordedcontrol information.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, amethod of recording control information on a recording medium accordingto the present invention includes the steps of generating a controlinformation associated with at least one or more recording layers andrecording velocities, the control information including firstinformation identifying a type of the corresponding control information,the information indicating whether the control information is used forCLV (constant linear velocity) or CAV(constant angular velocity), and awrite strategy parameters associated with the type of the controlinformation; and recording the control information on a specific area ofthe recording medium.

In another aspect of the present invention, A data structure of acontrol information recorded on a recording medium or to berecorded/reproduced on/from the recording medium, characterized in thatthe control information associated with a specific recording layerand/or a specific recording velocity and the control informationcomprises write strategy information dependent on a type informationindicating whether the control information is associated with CAV orCLV.

In another aspect of the present invention, a recording medium includesat least one recording layer provided with a recordable area and apre-recorded area, wherein a disc information is separately providedaccording to each recording velocity and/or each recording layer to thepre-recorded area and wherein an identification information identifyinga type of the disc information therein and a write strategy informationassociated with the identification information therein are provided tothe disc information.

In another aspect of the present invention, An optical disc includes atleast one or more recording layers, wherein a control information isprovided according to each recording layer and/or each recordingvelocity, wherein an identification information identifying a type ofthe control information and a write strategy parameters associated withthe identification information are recorded within the controlinformation.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of recording dataon a recording medium includes the steps of reading a plurality ofcontrol information separately recorded according to each recordingvelocity within a management area of the recording medium, checking anidentification information identifying a control information typerecorded within each control information, and performing a recording ofdata based on a write strategy information associated with acorresponding recording velocity from the identification information.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of recording dataon a recording medium includes the steps of identifying a specificcontrol information based on an identification information identifying atype of control information, wherein the control information associatedwith specific recording velocity and/or specific recording layer toprovide a reference information for recording or reading of data, theidentification information identifying whether the control informationis used for CLV or CAV, and recording data using write strategyparameters included in the control information to be used for CLV or CAVas a result of identifying step.

In another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for recordingdata on a recording medium includes an optical pickup reading aplurality of control information associated with at least recordingvelocity within a management area of the recording medium; and acontroller checking a control information type based on anidentification information to identify whether the corresponding controlinformation is used for CLV or CAV, reading a write strategy included inthe corresponding control information as a result of the checking step,and performing the recording of data using the read write strategy.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a single-layer disc applicable to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a dual-layer disc applicable to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a management area where control information ofthe present invention is recorded, in which a format of the discinformation in a corresponding area is schematically shown;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of control information recorded according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a write strategy within control informationrecorded according to one embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of control information recorded according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of control information recorded according to afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a write strategy within control informationrecorded according to the further embodiment of the present invention inFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of another example of a write strategy withincontrol information recorded according to the further embodiment of thepresent invention in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of control information recorded according toanother further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a write strategy within control informationrecorded according to the another further embodiment of the presentinvention in FIG. 10; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an optical disc recording/reproducingapparatus according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

A Blu-ray disc is taken as an example of an optical disc according tothe present invention. Yet, the concept of the present invention,characterized in an optical disc having its control information recordedthereon, is applicable to DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD+R andsimilar such discs.

Although the terminology used herein is well known for the most part,some terms have been chosen by the applicant, such that the presentinvention should be understood with the intended meanings of theterminology as used by the applicant.

For example, the ‘control information’ of a disc is recorded in aspecified area, i.e., a recordable area of the disc or a prerecordedarea, sometimes known as an embossed area, in which manufacturer data isrecorded and where no further recording is possible, and includesinformation necessary for the playback of a recorded disc. Disc controlinformation is called “disc information” or “DI” in relation to Blu-raydisc technology but is typically referred to as ‘physical formatinformation° for DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD+R discs. Hence, itshould be apparent that the technical background of the presentinvention is equally applicable to physical format information.

Moreover, the disc information according to the present invention isrecorded as an unspecified unit of information, which may be counted,for example, as a first or second information.

The present invention is characterized in that a write strategy (WS) isrecorded by interworking with information that identifies a kind of discinformation in recording the write strategy (WS) within discinformation, one of a plurality of write strategy types is selectivelyrecorded on manufacturing a disc, and a recording/reproducing apparatus(FIG. 12) performs recording/reproducing by referring to the writestrategy (WS) recorded within the disc information. Preferentially, themeaning of ‘write strategy (WS)’ used in the description of the presentinvention is explained in detail as follows.

Considering the meaning of ‘write strategy (WS)’, a medium property of arecording layer is generally modified by applying a laser beam to therecording layer within an optical disc via a pickup (‘11’ in FIG. 12) toperform a recording thereof. Hence, it should be decided a strength(write power) of the laser beam, a time of applying the write powerthereto, and the like. The above decided various kinds ofrecord-associated information are named ‘write strategy (WS)’ in generaland specific contents recorded within a specific ‘write strategy (WS)’are named ‘write strategy (WS) parameters’.

Write strategy (WS) information used in the present invention means theentire information associated with write strategy (WS). And, ‘WSparameters’ means items and specific numeric values configuring the WSand is a sort of WS information. Hence, the WS information has aninclusive concept including the above-described ‘WS Type’, ‘WS flag’that will be explained later, and the like as well as the WS parameters.

And, the write strategy (WS) can be recorded in various ways. As a disctends to be highly densified and to run at higher speed, a writingspeed, i.e., disc RPM) as well as the medium property of the recordinglayer is considerably affected. Hence, a more accurate system isrequested. And, the various write strategies (WS) are explained asfollows for example.

First of all, there is a system having a recording pulse smaller by 1than a recording mark size (n) formed on a recording layer medium, whichmay be called ‘(n−1) WS’. Secondly, there is a system having a recordingpulse having a size amounting to a half of the recording mark size (n),which may be called ‘n/2 WS’. Besides, new write strategies (WS) keepbeing developed. Regarding the different types of write strategies (WS),when there exist the various systems of the write strategy (WS) asparameters applied to the write strategies (WS) differ from each other,a disc manufacturer selects a specific WS to test write power accordingto write strategy parameters and then records a result of the test in‘WS parameters’ field in a specific area within the disc information.

Moreover, as a method of recording data on a disc, there are a constantlinear velocity (hereinafter abbreviated CLV) method and a constantangular velocity (hereinafter abbreviated CAV) method. The CLV methodapplies the same linear velocity to inner and outer circumferentialareas of a disc to perform a recording at one recording velocity. TheCAV method applies the same RPM to inner and outer circumferences of adisc, whereby linear speed in the outer circumference of the disc havinga relatively smaller rotational radius of the disc increases faster thanthat in the inner circumference of disc having a relatively greaterrotational radius. When the radiuses of the inner and outercircumferences are compared to each other, there exists about 2.4 timesdifference between recording velocities of the inner and outercircumferences of the disc.

Hence, in adopting the CAV system, a recording is performed at about2.4× speed on the outer circumference and at 1× speed on the innercircumference. For example, the recording is performed on the innercircumference at 4× speed, whereas performed on the outer circumferenceat about 9.6× speed. Since there exists a big difference between therecording velocities of the inner and outer circumferences of the disc,it is necessary to select an optimal recording velocity and writestrategy (WS) to be applied to each location of the disc to perform arecording thereon. Hence, the CAV method needs definitions for aboutthree kinds of linear velocities (writing speed) such as 1× linearvelocity, 1.7× linear velocity, and 2.4× linear velocity, which can becalled ‘one type recording velocity group’. And, a write strategy (WS)for each of the defined recording velocities should be recorded withindisc information.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are structural diagrams of optical discs according tothe present invention, in which a recordable optical disc is enough tobe the optical disc applicable to the present invention. Moreover, therecordable disc can be any one of a rewritable optical disc, awrite-once optical disc, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a single-layer disc having onerecording layer according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a lead-in area is provided as a management area onan inner circumference area of an optical disc, whereas a lead-out areais provided as a management area on an outer circumference area of theoptical disc. Specifically, a prerecorded area and a rewritable orwrite-once area are separated from each other within the innercircumference area of the disc.

The prerecorded area is an area (called ‘embossed area’) where data wasalready written in manufacturing the disc, whereby a user or system isunable to perform data writing on the prerecorded area at all. InBD-RE/WO, the prerecorded area is named PIC (permanent information andcontrol data) area. And, the above-described disc information(hereinafter called ‘DI’) as information required for disc recording isrecorded in the PIC area.

In a data area, provided are a user data area where user's real data isrecorded and spare areas ISA and OSA to replace a generated defect area.Specifically, TDMA (temporary defect management area) for recordinginformation of defect and general managements is provided to such awrite-once optical disc as BD-WO. In case of the re-writable BD (BD-RE),TDMA is unnecessary so that such an area is left as a reserved area.

The present invention intends to provide a method of efficientlyrecording disc information (DI) as control information required forrecord playback of a disc in the prerecorded or recordable area. It isapparent that a recording method in the prerecorded area is differentlyapplied to each kind of discs. In case of BD-RE/WO, the PIC area as theprerecorded area is recorded by biphased high frequency modulatedsignals, the high frequency modulated signals in the corresponding areaare played back according to a specific playback method, and informationis acquired from the playback.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a dual-layer disc having dual recording layers,in which a recording layer starting with a lead-in is named a firstrecording layer Layer0 and a recording layer ending with a lead-out isnamed a second recording layer Layer1.

In the dual-layer disc, the PIC area is provided to lead-in and lead-outareas of a disc inner circumference area, and disc information (DI) ofthe same contents is recorded in the PIC area.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a PIC area in the disc shown in FIG. 1or FIG. 2. As mentioned in the foregoing description, it means thatinformation can be rearranged like the structure of the PIC area in FIG.3 when the entire information within the high frequency modulated PICarea is acquired.

A method of configuring disc information (DI) in the PIC area isexplained in detail as follows.

In BD-RE/WO, ‘one cluster’ represents a minimum record unit, fivehundred forty-four clusters gather to construct one fragment as oneupper record unit, and total five fragments gather to form the PIC area.Disc information is recorded in a front head cluster of a first fragmentIF0. The disc information is plurally recorded per recording layer andwriting speed permitted by the corresponding optical disc, and one discinformation includes one hundred twelve bytes. Specifically, discinformation constructed with 112-bytes is called disc information (DI)frame. Moreover, the same contents of the disc information arerepeatedly recorded in each front head cluster of the rest of thefragments, thereby enabling to cope with loss of the disc information.

Information representing the corresponding recording layer, informationrepresenting writing speed, and write strategy information correspondingto the writing speed are recorded within each disc information. Hence,such information is utilized in the recording or reproducing of thecorresponding optical disc, thereby enabling to provide optimal writepower per recording layer and per writing speed.

Various embodiments for a method of recording a write strategy (WS)associated with a disc information type within disc informationaccording to the present invention are explained in detail by referringto FIGS. 4 to 12 as follows.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of recording disc information of an optical discaccording to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a discinformation structure is schematically shown.

Referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of disc information are recorded withina disc, a record sequence of each disc information is decided by asequence number, and the record sequence is recorded by 1-byte. Forinstance, the corresponding information is recorded in 5^(th) bytewithin the disc information, which is named ‘DI frame sequence number inDI block’ field and is briefly indicated by ‘00h, 01h, 02h, 03h . . . ’.Namely, if the information of the 5^(th) byte is ‘00h’, it means 1^(st)disc information. And, if the information of the 5^(th) byte is ‘07h’,it means 8^(th) disc information. Moreover, the meaning of ‘DI framesequence number in DI block’ of the 5^(th) byte can be defined in afollowing manner. First of all, if the information of the 5^(th) byte is‘00h’, ‘00h’ means 1^(st) disc information as well as disc informationof 1× speed of a first recording layer Layer0. ‘01h’ means 2^(nd) discinformation as well as disc information of 2× speed of the firstrecording layer Layer0. ‘02h’ means 3^(rd) disc information as well asdisc information of 4× speed of the first recording layer Layer0. And,‘03h’ means 4^(th) disc information as well as disc information of 8×speed of the first recording layer Layer0. It is a matter of course thatthe recording layer information and the writing speed information can beseparately recorded in a reserved area within disc information.

And, identification information enabling to identify a type or kind ofthe disc information is recorded in a specific area of N^(th) byte,which is named ‘DI Type’ field, within the disc information. Moreover, awrite strategy (WS) interoperating with the type of the correspondingdisc information is recorded in another specific area, e.g., area named‘Write Strategy parameters’ field as L^(th)˜111^(th) bytes, within thedisc information.

Namely, it is identified whether the corresponding disc information isin ‘CLV’ mode or ‘CAV’ mode via ‘DI Type’ field, and the write strategy(WS) is recorded in a manner fitting the identified mode. For instance,if it is the CLV mode, a WS for one recording velocity is recorded only.If it is CAV mode, it is necessary to record a WS for one type recordingvelocity group (e.g., three kinds of linear velocities such as 1×, 1.7×,and 2.4×).

And, if the information identifying the disc information type is ‘00000000b’ for example, it means to define ‘CLV disc information (DI)’. If‘0000 0001b’, it means to define ‘CAV disc information (DI).

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary method of recording disc information in caseof recording identification information for identifying a discinformation type in N^(th) byte within the disc information like FIG. 4,in which one recording layer Layer0 is shown for convenience ofexplanation. And, it is a matter of course that the method can beapplied in the same manner even if there exist more recording layers.

The disc information of the present invention, as mentioned in theforegoing description, is information that a disc manufacturer recordscharacteristics of a corresponding disc in a prerecorded area within thedisc. A write strategy (WS) the disc has is defined so that arecording/reproducing apparatus (FIG. 12) can utilize it in thepractical application of the recording/reproducing. Hence, in recordingdisc information, a disc manufacturer preferentially decides anapplicable writing speed per recording layer and then recordsidentification information indicating whether the decided writing speedcorresponds to the CLV or CAV method in the N^(th) byte. Hence, thewrite strategy (WS) interworking with the identification information isidentified according to a CLV or CAV mode to be recorded inL^(th)˜111^(th) bytes.

For instance, disc information for 1× speed of 1^(st) recording layer isrecorded in ‘00h’ as a disc information sequence, a disc informationtype means a CAV mode, and a write strategy (WS) interworks with it sothat a CAV WS is selected to be recorded. Disc information for 2× speedof 1^(st) recording layer is recorded in ‘01h’, a disc information typemeans a CLV mode, and a write strategy (WS) interworks with it so that aCLV WS is selected to be recorded. Disc information for 4× speed of1^(st) recording layer is recorded in ‘02h’, a disc information typemeans a CLV mode, and a write strategy (WS) interworks with it so that aCLV WS is selected to be recorded. Disc information for 8× speed of 1strecording layer is recorded in ‘03h’, a disc information type means aCAV mode, and a write strategy (WS) interworks with it so that a CAV WSis selected to be recorded. In this case, the CLV or CAV WS means onewrite strategy (WS) selected by a disc manufacturer. In case of CLV, thewrite strategy will be applied to one kind writing speed. In case ofCAV, the write strategy will be applied to a plurality of writing speedsfor one type writing speed or recording velocity group.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of recording control information according toanother embodiment of the present invention. Compared to the embodimentin FIG. 4, FIG. 6 shows that specific identification for CAV mode issubdivided to be applied to ‘DI Type’ field written in N^(th) bytewithin disc information.

Namely, in case that corresponding disc information means CAV mode, thisis subdivided to identify how many velocities are provided by a writestrategy (WS). Hence, ‘DI Type’ field can be defined as follows. If ‘DIType’ field recorded in N^(th) byte is ‘0000 0001b’, it means CAV modeand a write strategy (WS) recorded in L^(th)˜111^(th) bytes is recordedto correspond to one kind of velocity only. If ‘DI Type’ field recordedin N^(th) byte is ‘0000 0010b’, it means CAV mode and a write strategy(WS) recorded in L^(th)˜111^(th) bytes is recorded to correspond to twokinds of velocities. If ‘DI Type’ field recorded in N^(th) byte is ‘00000011b’, it means CAV mode and a write strategy (WS) recorded inL^(th)˜111^(th) bytes is recorded to correspond to three kinds ofvelocities.

Generally, in case of CAV mode, the corresponding disc information has awrite strategy relating to three kinds of velocities. Yet, theabove-explained definition of ‘DI Type’ field enables a discmanufacturer to avoid having difficulty in coping with various writestrategies. And, the above-explained definition of ‘DI Type’ fieldenables a manufacturer of a disc recording/reproducing apparatus todevelop an inexpensive product coping with one write strategy (WS) only.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of recording control information according to afurther embodiment of the present invention, in which information foridentifying a type of disc information is recorded within discinformation like the embodiment in FIG. 4 together with anotherinformation enabling to identify a type of write strategy (WS) finallyused.

Referring to FIG. 7, the information enabling to identify a writestrategy (WS) type is to identify which one of a plurality of specifiedwrite strategies (WS) was selected to be used by a disc manufacturer,whereas the information for identifying a disc information type enablesto identify whether corresponding disc information is in CLV mode or CAVmode. For instance, as mentioned in the foregoing description, variouswrite strategy types, which can exist such as (n−1) WS, n/2 WS, etc.,are defined as 1^(st) WS WS-1, 2^(nd) WS WS-2, . . . and K^(th) WS WS-K.And, the information identifying the write strategy type (named ‘WSType’) selected by a disc manufacturer is recorded within discinformation.

This is explained by being compared to the embodiment in FIG. 4 asfollows. First of all, ‘Write Strategy (WS) Type’ field is added toP^(th) byte of the embodiment in FIG. 4 so that L^(th)˜111^(th) writestrategy (WS) is recorded by interworking with a disc information typein N^(th) byte and a write strategy (WS) type in P^(th) byte. Namely, itcan be defined as follows. If ‘0000 0000b’ is written in P^(th) byte, itmeans 1^(st) WS WS-1. If ‘0000 0010b’ is written in P^(th) byte, itmeans 2^(nd) WS WS-2. And, if ‘XXXX XXXXb’ is written in P^(th) byte, itmeans K^(th) WS WS-K.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of recording a write strategy within controlinformation according to the further embodiment of the present inventionin FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a diagram of another example of recording awrite strategy within control information according to the furtherembodiment of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows that a disc manufacturer optionally records a specificwrite strategy (WS) for entire writing speeds in recording one of aplurality of write strategies (WS).

Referring to FIG. 8, N^(th) byte of disc information indicates a discinformation type, P^(th) byte of disc information indicates a writestrategy (WS) type, and parameters associated with one write strategy(WS) decided by interworking with the N^(th) and P^(th) bytes arerecorded in L^(th)˜11^(th) bytes.

For instance, disc information for 1× speed of 1^(st) recording layer isrecorded in ‘00h’ as a disc information sequence, a disc informationtype means a CAV mode, a write strategy (WS) type means 1^(st) WS WS-1,and a write strategy (WS) interworks with them so that a CAV WS-1 isselected to be recorded. Disc information for 2× speed of 1^(st)recording layer is recorded in ‘01h’, a disc information type means aCLV mode, a write strategy (WS) type means 1^(st) WS WS-1, and a writestrategy (WS) interworks with them so that a CLV WS-1 is selected to berecorded. Disc information for 4× speed of 1^(st) recording layer isrecorded in ‘02h’, a disc information type means a CLV mode, a writestrategy (WS) type means 2^(nd) WS WS-2, and a write strategy (WS)interworks with them so that a CLV WS-2 is selected to be recorded. Discinformation for 8× speed of 1^(st) recording layer is recorded in ‘03h’,a disc information type means a CAV mode, a write strategy (WS) typemeans 2^(nd) WS WS-2, and a write strategy (WS) interworks with them sothat a CAV WS-2 is selected to be recorded.

FIG. 9 shows that one of a plurality of write strategies (WS) isrecorded within disc information, in which a mandatory write strategy(WS) type is recorded for a specific specified writing speed (e.g., 1×speed) but a disc manufacturer optionally records a specific writestrategy (WS) for the rest writing speeds.

Hence, the method in FIG. 9 differs from the method in FIG. 8 in that awrite strategy (WS) type is decided in a mandatory manner by puttinglimitation on disc manufacturer's options for a specific writing speed(1× speed). This enables a manufacturer of a disc recording/reproducingapparatus (FIG. 12) to design to manufacture inexpensive products copingwith one write strategy (WS) type only.

For instance, disc information for 1× speed of 1^(st) recording layer isrecorded in ‘00h’ as a disc information sequence, a disc informationtype means a CAV mode, a write strategy (WS) type means 1^(st) WS WS-1,and a write strategy (WS) interworks with them so that a CAV WS-1 isselected in a mandatory manner to be recorded. Disc information for 2×speed of 1^(st) recording layer is recorded in ‘01h’, a disc informationtype means a CLV mode, a write strategy (WS) type means 1st WS WS-1, anda write strategy (WS) interworks with them so that a CLV WS-1 isselected to be recorded. Disc information for 4× speed of 1^(st)recording layer is recorded in ‘02h’, a disc information type means aCLV mode, a write strategy (WS) type means 2^(nd) WS WS-2, and a writestrategy (WS) interworks with them so that a CLV WS-2 is selected to berecorded. Disc information for 8× speed of 1^(st) recording layer isrecorded in ‘03h’, a disc information type means a CAV mode, a writestrategy (WS) type means 2^(nd) WS WS-2, and a write strategy (WS)interworks with them so that a CAV WS-2 is selected to be recorded.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of recording control information according toanother further embodiment of the present invention, in which specificidentification for CAV mode is subdivided to be applied to ‘DI Type’field written in N^(th) byte within disc information and in whichinformation designating a write strategy (WS) type is recorded as well.

Referring to FIG. 10, in case that corresponding disc information meansCAV mode, this is subdivided to identify how many velocities areprovided by a write strategy (WS). Hence, ‘DI Type’ field can be definedas follows. If ‘DI Type’ field recorded in N^(th) byte is ‘0000 0001b’,it means CAV mode and a write strategy (WS) recorded in L^(th)˜111^(th)bytes is recorded to correspond to one kind of velocity only. If ‘DIType’ field recorded in N^(th) byte is ‘0000 0010b’, it means CAV modeand a write strategy (WS) recorded in L^(th)˜111^(th) bytes is recordedto correspond to two kinds of velocities. If ‘DI Type’ field recorded inN^(th) byte is ‘0000 0011b’, it means CAV mode and a write strategy (WS)recorded in L^(th)˜111^(th) bytes is recorded to correspond to threekinds of velocities.

Moreover, ‘Write Strategy (WS) Type’ field is added to P^(th) bytewithin disc information so that L^(th)˜111^(th) write strategy (WS) isrecorded by interworking with a disc information type in N^(th) byte anda write strategy (WS) type in P^(th) byte. Namely, it can be defined asfollows. If ‘0000 0000b’ is written in P^(th) byte, it means 1^(st) WSWS-1. If ‘0000 0010b’ is written in P^(th) byte, it means 2^(nd) WSWS-2. And, if ‘XXXX XXXXb’ is written in P^(th) byte, it means K^(th) WSWS-K.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of recording a write strategy within controlinformation according to another further embodiment of the presentinvention in FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 11, ‘0000 0000b’ is written in ‘DI Type’ field ofN^(th) byte to mean CLV mode. ‘0000 0001b’ is written in ‘Write Strategy(WS) Type’ field of P^(th) byte to mean 1^(st) WS WS-1. 5^(th) byte is‘00h’ to mean 1× speed disc information of 1^(st) recording layer. And,a specific write strategy (WS) interworking with the N^(th) and p^(th)bytes is written in Lth˜111^(th) bytes within a disc.

As it is a CLV mode, a write strategy (WS) for one kind of velocity isrecorded. As it is 1^(st) WS WS-1, parameters by ‘(n−1) WS’ type aredefined for example. Accordingly, a disc manufacturer records an optimalvalue in a corresponding disc.

If ‘DI Type’ field (N^(th) byte) is set to ‘0000 0001b’ to mean a CAVmode, or if ‘Write Strategy (WS) Type’ field is set to ‘0000 0010b’ tomean 2^(nd) W WS-2, it is apparent that write strategy (WS) parameterswritten in L^(th)˜111^(th) bytes should be recorded as new contentsdifferent from the parameters specified in FIG. 11 or the values of thecorresponding parameters.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an optical disc recording/reproducingapparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12, a recording/reproducing apparatus according to thepresent invention includes a recorder/reproducer 10 carrying outrecording/reproducing on an optical disc and a control unit 20controlling the recorder/reproducer 10.

The control unit 20 gives a record or playback command for a specificarea, and the recorder/reproducer 10 caries out therecording/reproducing on the specific area according to the command ofthe control unit 20. Specifically, the recorder/reproducer 10 includesan interface unit 12 performing communications with an external device,a pickup unit 11 directly recording data on the optical disc orreproducing the data, a data processor 13 receiving a playback signalfrom the pickup unit 11 to restore into a necessary signal value ormodulating to deliver a signal to be recorded into a signal to berecorded on the optical disc, a servo unit 14 reading out a signal fromthe optical disc correctly or controlling the pickup unit 11 to record asignal on the optical disc correctly, a memory 15 temporarily storingmanagement information including control information and data, and amicrocomputer 16 responsible for controlling the above-describedelements within the recorder/reproducer 10.

A disc information recording process of an optical disc according to thepresent invention is explained in detail as follows.

First of all, once an optical disc is loaded in therecording/reproducing apparatus, the entire disc management informationwithin the disc is read out to be temporarily stored in the memory 15 ofthe recorder/reproducer 10. And, various kinds of the disc managementinformation are utilized for the recording/reproducing of the opticaldisc. Specifically, the management information stored in the memory 15includes disc information of the present invention. Hence, informationfor identifying a disc information type recorded within discinformation, identification information for identifying a write strategy(WS), and write strategy parameter values interworking with them areread out to be temporarily stored in the memory 15.

If intending to perform a recording on a specific area within theoptical disc, the control unit 20 renders such an intent into a writingcommand and then delivers it to the recorder/reproducer 10 together withdata for writing location information to be recorded. After receivingthe writing command, the microcomputer 16 decides the correspondingwriting speed applied to an area within the optical disc from themanagement information (specifically via disc information) stored in thememory 15 and then performs the writing command by finding optimal writepower by referring to a write strategy (WS) corresponding to the decidedwriting speed.

Accordingly, the present invention provides various methods of providingcontrol information coping with higher writing speed in a high-densityoptical disc. Specifically, in recording a write strategy (WS) withindisc information, CLV and CAV are separately recorded, whereby it isable to efficiently cope with the record/playback of the optical disc.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus,it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A method of recording control information on a recording medium,comprising: generating a control information associated with at leastone recording velocity, the control information including firstinformation identifying a type of the corresponding control informationunit and a write strategy information dependent on the type of thecontrol information unit, wherein the first information indicateswhether the control information unit can be used for CLV (constantlinear velocity) mode or CAV (constant angular velocity) mode; andrecording the control information on a specific area of the recordingmedium.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating step generatesthe control information unit further including write strategy parametersassociated with CLV (constant linear velocity) mode or CAV (constantangular velocity) mode, the write strategy parameters including a writepulse duration, first write pulse duration and first write pulseduration.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the write strategyparameters further include erase pulse duration and first erase pulsestart time.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the generating stepgenerates the control information further including second informationfor identifying velocities associated with the write strategy parametersif the first information indicates the control information unit for CAV(constant angular velocity) mode.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein therespective write strategy parameters associated with the respectivevelocities are included in the control information unit.
 6. The methodof claim 2, wherein the control information includes the write strategyparameters associated with one recording velocity if the firstinformation indicates the control information unit for CLV (constantlinear velocity) mode.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the writestrategy parameters are associated with write strategy type applicableto the corresponding recording velocity.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the write strategy type is one of at least two write strategytypes applicable to the corresponding recording velocity.
 9. The methodof claim 7, wherein the write strategy parameters associated with thetype of control information unit and the write strategy type areincluded in the control information unit.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the recording step records the control information unit in awritable area of the recording medium.
 11. A method of recording controlinformation on a recording medium, comprising: generating a controlinformation unit associated with one or more one recording velocities,the control information unit including first information indicatingwhether parameters defined in the corresponding control information unitcan be used CLV (constant linear velocity) mode or CAV (constant angularvelocity) mode and a write strategy information dependent on therecording velocity; and recording the control information unit on aspecific area of the recording medium.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the write strategy information includes write strategyparameters including a write pulse duration, first write pulse durationand first write pulse duration.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein thewrite strategy parameters further include erase pulse duration and firsterase pulse start time.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein thegenerating step generates the control information unit further includingsecond information for identifying velocities associated with the writestrategy parameters.
 15. A method of recording control information on arecording medium, comprising: generating a control information unitassociated with one or more one recording velocities, the controlinformation unit including write strategy information associated withone or more recording velocities and first information indicatingwhether CLV (constant linear velocity) mode or CAV (constant angularvelocity) mode with the write strategy information can be used; andrecording the control information unit on a specific area of therecording medium.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the write strategyinformation includes write strategy parameters including a write pulseduration, first write pulse duration and first write pulse duration. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein the write strategy parameters furtherinclude erase pulse duration and first erase pulse start time.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the generating step generates the controlinformation unit further including second information for identifyingvelocities associated with the write strategy parameters.
 19. Arecording medium, comprising: at least one recording layer provided witha recordable area and a pre-recorded area, wherein a medium controlinformation unit is provided respectively according to each recordingvelocity at the recordable area or the pre-recorded area and wherein themedium control information unit includes first information identifying atype of the corresponding medium control information unit and a writestrategy information dependent on the type of the medium controlinformation unit, wherein the first information indicates whether themedium control information unit can be used for CLV (constant linearvelocity) mode or CAV (constant angular velocity) mode.
 20. Therecording medium of claim 19, wherein the medium control informationunit further includes write strategy parameters associated with CLV(constant linear velocity) mode or CAV (constant angular velocity) mode,the write strategy parameters including a write pulse duration, firstwrite pulse duration and first write pulse duration.
 21. The recordingmedium of claim 20, wherein the write strategy parameters furtherinclude erase pulse duration and first erase pulse start time.
 22. Therecording medium of claim 20, wherein the medium control informationunit further includes second information for identifying velocitiesassociated with the write strategy parameters if the first informationindicates the medium control information unit for CAV (constant angularvelocity) mode.
 23. The recording medium of claim 22, where therespective write strategy parameters associated with the respectivevelocities are included in the control information unit.
 24. Therecording medium of claim 20, wherein the medium control informationunit includes the write strategy parameters associated with onerecording velocity if the first information indicates the medium controlinformation for CLV (constant linear velocity) mode.
 25. The recordingmedium of claim 19, wherein the write strategy parameters are associatedwith write strategy type applicable to the corresponding recordingvelocity.
 26. The recording medium of claim 25, wherein the writestrategy type is one of at least two write strategy types applicable tothe corresponding recording velocity.
 27. The recording medium of claim25, wherein the write strategy parameters associated with the type ofmedium control. information unit and the write strategy type areincluded in the medium control information unit.
 28. An apparatus forrecording control information on a recording medium, comprising: apickup unit recording or reading data on or from the recording medium; agenerating unit generating a control information unit associates with atleast one recording velocity, the control information unit includingfirst information identifying a type of the corresponding controlinformation unit and a write strategy information dependent on the typeof the control information unit, wherein the first information indicateswhether the control information unit can be used for CLV (constantlinear velocity) mode or CAV (constant angular velocity) mode; and acontroller controlling the pickup unit to record the control informationon a specific area of the recording medium.
 29. The apparatus of claim28, wherein the controller controls the pickup unit to record thecontrol information in a writable area of the specific area of therecording medium.